[article] Crystal Kay is all yours

[nmskalmn]

Excerpt:

It's not for lack of trying. Working as a voice actress since the age of 6 and signing with Epic Records aged 12, Kay has experienced sacrifice and compromise, juggling her education (she's a final-year social studies major) with her aspirations to be the next Janet Jackson.

"I used to think it was hard work in the beginning, because I was still 13 and it was really hectic. It was like, go to school, do basketball practice, go to work on the weekends; I was like, 'Why can't I just hang out like the rest of 'em?' "

While Kay could easily have focused solely on music instead of college, she decided to have a backup plan and pursue a degree. Nonetheless, "hopefully I can stick to plan A!" she says.

"My goal is to get a Grammy. It's a big goal! I want to go worldwide eventually, so I just have to work hard for that."

Ah, the sweet allure of global fame. It's something that has so far eluded Japan's brightest hopes — think of the dismal sales in the West of Utada Hikaru's crossover album "Exodus" in 2004.

Recently, industry players such as Sire Records boss Seymour Stein (who helped launched the careers of Madonna and The Ramones) have come out and said that the next global superstar will come from Asia, and Kay knows full well that she'll have to work her bottom off if she's to avoid "doing an Utada."

Read it: Crystal Kay is all yours